Hockey slaps around Weber State
The Utah State hockey team scored 13 goals in the second and third periods, in a 14-1 victory over Weber State University, Friday.
It took a while for the Aggies to warm up — USU led just 1-0 after the first 20 minutes of play — but the Utah State offense was too much for the Wildcats.
“Weber is always a tough place to play because they are an in-state rival,” USU forward Brendan MacDonald said. “They always play 60 minutes, and we matched it with our skill to make the score what it was.”
MacDonald led Utah State with three goals and one assist in the game. MacDonald now has three hat-tricks, in four games. Tyler Mistelbacher also had a good night for the Aggies. The center added two goals and two assists.
“We had our first real test on the road,” MacDonald said. “Everybody stepped up.”
The bright spot for Utah State was in the number of penalties it received. The Aggies managed to stay out of the box for the most part. The skaters were only called for six penalties in the game — a big improvement for the team that is known for serving penalty time.
Utah State got an early 1-0 lead but struggled to get its offense going early on. Weber State goaltender Craig Peterson showed off his talented glove, making 18 saves in the first period.
“He had a good game,” USU head coach John Eccles said. “The guys were coming to the bench saying ‘Stay away from his glove hand.’ He had some pretty good saves.”
The Aggies controlled the puck well in the first period but were unable to find openings on offense.
“We came out knowing that we could beat them, so our intensity wasn’t there,” Eccles said. “It took us a little time to get going.”
USU got some help from bench leadership in the second period.
“Everyone was saying, ‘Guys, come on we can’t lose our focus,'” Eccles said. “It’s a one-goal game, we have to step it up.”
Utah State took advantage of the team support by scoring six goals in the second period. The Aggies capitalized much better in the period despite only taking one more shot than they did in the first. USU took 22 shots in the first and just 23 in the second.
Utah State got the puck in the back of the net using every shot to its advantage.
“We started moving the puck around a lot better,” Eccles said. “We found a way to get easy goals.”
The Aggies continued their hot streak in the third period, as they added seven goals to the lead. Aggie goalie Russell Mckay was nearly perfect for the Aggies. Mckay played for 50 minutes and allowed one Wildcat goal. Allesandro Mullane came in and played the final 10 minutes for USU.
The Aggies had eight players score. Aggie newcomers Cooper Limb and Aaron Duff each added a goal, and freshman Gary Higgs tallied his first two goals of the season in the win.
The Aggies head on the road next week to face their toughest opponents of the regular season. USU will face off against the University of Minnesota, the University of Kentucky and Michigan State, a team the Aggies are very familiar with.
The Spartans defeated Utah State last March to end the Aggies’ bid at a national title.
– meredith.kinney@aggiemail.usu.edu